green



2 Sheets-'Sheet 1.

. H. GREEN.

Axle.

No. 11,063. i v Amened.June 13.1864

6 www Inventor:

wy/14W 2 Sheets- Sheet l2.

E. H. GREEN.

Axle.

N. 11,063.- Patented June 13. 1.854.

Inventor..

ELI H. GREEN, OFBALTIMORE, MYARrLA-ND.

'CARRIAGE-AXLE.

`SpeciQatIi of Letters `III-atent No. 11,063, dated June 13, `1854.,`

To all whom t may concern Be a imam that r, ELI n. GREE, f the` y cityof Baltimore, in the `State `of Maryland,

have invented certain new and useful Im` pro'vem'ents in Carriage-Axles;and I hereby declare that the following is a "full, clear, and exactdescription thereof, reference being had to the annexed drawings, whichl exhibit my improvements as applied to two different kinds ofaxle-boxesand axles, Figure l` being alongitudinal section of lmy close foil boxand back washer arrangement.

Fig. Q, a cross 'section of the same, and Fig. 8, the front plate orcap, which `is shown in `section at s Fig. l, Figs. 4, and 5, are

...s ,y.. similar sections of my improved common penditure both of Acastand wrought metal,

while the cost of, is reduced and facility of production is materiallyincreased, and the expensive part and one requiring renewal may beconsidered a new article of commerce, as the cast sleeves can bemanufactured and finished lcomplete in large quantij ties at a machine`shop, and then sold at low rates to blacksmiths who desire to make the lwrought iron "axle for their reception.

A second improvement is in the 'admirable adaptability of the removablesleeve, to the 1 ,oil tight box known as the mail `coach path ent, asthe facility with which the lock plate or broad washer a; on the insideof the hub may be removed lfrom the arm, by the with` drawal of thesleeve and hurter attached 1 thereto, thus obviating the necessity ofcutting the axle fhitherto re"uired`it further offers a ready means otaking olf the wheels, without the drawing of a single bolt as thesleeve, hurter, plate and hub may be detached from the arm.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention, I willnow describe itsA construction and use, with its advantages. h n

I construct my axletrees of wrought bar iron, of proper vsize ordimensions, for the strength required, and by plain hammering, I formthe arm or spindle into an octagonal or eight 'square shape, having,also., a slight taper as shown at A A Fig. l, and B B Fig. 4, in both`of which figures the cants or squaresfare shown by dotted lines;- usingone ofthe castmetal covers lor sleeves 0 '0 Fig. 4, p p Fig. l, as aguide while forging the arms.` My axles are therefore finished, so faras the journal or arms are concerned, at the forge, saving also thetrouble and expense of laying orsteeling the arms, and of finishing bythe turning lathe; which latter expensive, and very frequentlyinconvenient, process, is indispensable in the making the` dierent kindsof solid axles now use; which is a consideration "of vast importance inthe manufacture and repairing of cranked axles, which are generally veryheavy, and, from their angular form, diificultto manage, renderingrepairs very expensive, and in those cases where the turned arms have tobe repaired the expense is 'nearly equal to the cost of new axles, anexpense which my improvement would completely obviate. These crankedaxles are now coming into extensive use for carts and ,drays, as well asfor omnibuses, from the fact that they permit the bed 'of the vehicle tooccupy a lower posi'- tion than can be obtained by the use of straightaxles, they consequently afford greater facility in loading andunloading aswell as greater safety in transportation fort-he center 0fgravity being comparatively low the vibration is consequently less.

The covers or sleeves p 2J Fig. 1, and 0 0 Fig. 4, of the arms, I formof cast iron or brass, the inner surface of which should be, as nearlyas possible, the frustrum of a true octagonal pyramid, which is easily`accomplished by casting it on a core of that form; and the cover, soformed, will fit the arm or spindlefof the axle equally well invafny.position, although the arm itself might not be perfectly true. Thesecovers have also a collar l) b Figs. l, and 2, and cc Figs. 4, and

5, cast of the same piece on their inner or backend, and they are turnedin a lathe on an octagonal mandrel, to the proper form and finish,corresponding to the solid turned arms now in use. They are then put onor over Lthe octagonal arms of the axles and secured by nuts Von theends, as shown at al Fig. l, and j Fig. 4f, The nut f in Fig. 4, servesalso to 'secure the hub of the wheel to the axle, by means o-f the ironwasher g this washer has an octagonal hole through it, co-rresponding tothe cross section of the wrought iron part ofthe arm B B so as to resistthe action of the wheel and e'ectually prevent the removal of the nut bythat means, but to prevent the removalof these end nuts d Fig. 1, and fFig. 4, by any means, when not required, they may be secured by splitpins or wires, as shown at L and h Figs. v1, and 4, Z3 cmd k Fig. 4, areleather washers, which are interposed between the axle box m m and theend collar c and washer g to prevent rigidity and noise lbetweenit andthe axle box. In Figs. 1, 2,

4, and 5, n' is a'small recessl turned in the sleeve for oil, as isusual in the solid axles.

The advantages of my improvements over the present methods ofconstructing and using axles are first, any .common blacksmith,

with tolerable facilities, can make or repair these axles without aturning lathe, or other appendage of a machine shop, as the sleeves orcovers being separate and detached from the arms or axles will bemanufactured and on sale as boxes and other things in that line now are.

l A seconded-vantage of this improvement, is, that when one side of thiscast metal sleeve or covering is so worn as to need renewal, it may beplaced in a new position on the spindle or arm, from the increasednumber of sides, and thus present an unworn portion of its surface tothe box; an operation which can be performed in a few minutes, virtuallyproducing a renewal of the journal of the axle without any expense. Thisis of very great importance, as it saves the trouble, expense and delaywhich is unavoidable in repairing solid axles.

This mode of making iron axles will very much cheapen their manufactureand especially of t-he cranked form, the expense of repairing which,heretofore, has very much retarded their more general adoption,notwithstanding the many desirable advantages which they afford over thecommon straight axles.

A third advantage is, that the use of my movable cover or sleeve for thewearing parts of axles, when properly made, enables me to use the backfastening or broad washer Figs. 1 and 2, on the back of the hub,commonly called the mail coach patent, without being compelled, as inthe old way with solid axles having the collar (or hurter) bwelded on,to cut the axle in two parts in order to get this broad washer off oron, in case of repairs; by my improved method of construction, I removethe broad` washer a: by simply removing the sleeve p p, which isfastened orsecured to the axle by the nut d, Fig. 1, and is replaced bythe same process, and is fixed and held vto its place by the collar 0rhurter b, Fig. 1, cast of the same piece with the sleeve p p, whichcover or sleeve is kept on the arm of the axle by the nut CZ as beforestated, being securedl against its front end. This is of impor-tance andproduces a new and useful effect, inasmuch as it enables me to removelthe wheel from the axle without removing 'leather or. other yieldingsubstance t and t to make an oil-tight joint, all held rmly together bybolts g passing through the hub I-I as seen at Fig. 1. To avoid thenecessity of removing this cap or front plate s to replenish the boxwith oil, I tap a small screw v, Figs. 1 and 3, through the cap plates', which can be removed by a common'screw driver, when the. oil may bepoured in and' the screw replaced without further trouble.

Thefifth and last advantage, I shall mention of this arrangement is',that by making the end of the axle of proper form and its nut of properdimensions the axle will bear against the end plate s or against anyintermediate substance that may be placed between the end of the axleand the said front plate s and if intermediate substances are used, theyought to be elastic or yielding. The axle thus having an end bearing asshown at w, Fig. 1, will reduce the friction as well as unpleasantjarring, and noise of the axle and the box.

I am aware it is not new to form axles with a square arm andcorresponding opening in the sleeve as that has been patented toPhillips .& Maher in 1828, but in that case the advantage of producingthe greatest strength with the quantity of metal employed is notobtained, neither does the margin of the sleeve approach the regularityof thickness I have obtained.

I am also aware that `it is not new to form' axles with round arms andcorresponding openings in the sleeves, see patent of H. F. Phillips,1841, but it must be borne in mind that this requires the expense of theturning lathe in forming the arm, and chucking the box to make a fit,and also the objection of the round arm permitting the sleeve to turnthereon; all the advantage of this form I embrace, as it is notabsolutely requisite to have all the sides of my box to fit as any threesecures the sleeve. I therefore do not claim the mere axle with ashifting sleeve; but

`What I do claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Iatentis l. The construction of axles for carriages wherein the arms andintermediate bar coach patent boX as set forth, for the pur- 10 space`loe of Wrought iron and the arms pose of obviating the necessity ofcutting thereof formed of eight or more sides fitting the aXle to removethe broad Washer, as set into a corresponding hollow of cast sleeve,forth in the foregoing specification.

5 the surface of which may be turned for a bearing in the mannersubstantially as ELI H' GREEN' shown and described. a Vitnesses:

2. I also claim the combination of the cast M. L. LACEY,

sleeve carrying the hurter, with the Inail i JOHN CooHRANE.

